Arachnea
Time could flow strangely on the wide plains of Freneskae: in the mountains, it could be stranger still. She learned soon that there were other tribes- lesser tribes, too small and weak, too simple to be paid attention. Her tribe, which lived within the recesses of Doomed Mountain, had survived many wars by simply being too far out of the way to be a worthwhile target, and they thrived. Sure, no year passed without a number of them dying, but their number never shrank to be too few: and as the time went on further, their skill in surviving their harsh environment grew ever more, allowing even more of them to live another day. They thrived in silence, waiting out the ravaging storms in the bowels of the mountains that were both their saviors and their demise: for the inside of a mountain can be treacherous, and it often trapped the unwary in rock-slides or coated them with molten rock from the bowels of the ground. Arachnea saw it happen once: she had felt the faint rumble and moved quickly, but the Dream behind her had grown weary and was just a little too slow. When she turned, she saw it writhing, its foot crushed and trapped under a mass of rock, before another one fell and covered it entirely. Silently, she promised to herself never to let herself become so distracted, so unaware that the same could happen to her. She kept her promise. It was, perhaps, a little unusual, because even among their large and relatively peaceful tribe, deceit between the members was frequent. But it paid off: the absolute adherence to the principle of keeping her promises drove her forward, and bit by bit, other Dreams accepted it as well. This helped even more, because when the Dreams in her tribe were sure that they could rely on one another, their collective power increased exponentially. The process was slow, but it brought them forward with every step- until they found that because of their numbers, their bonds weakened. With too many possible partners, smaller groups emerged from the larger one and infighting threatened. The tension rose, seven Dreams died from various confrontations, the most prominent ones in each division began to rear their followers for battle..... and then Chra'tiv arrived. They didn't know where she had come from, and none of them wanted to guess. What they knew, or found out very swiftly, was that she had lived her life on Freneskae better than they had: for she was more ancient than any of them, more powerful than all of them together. She gathered them together and chose her favorites: the rest were sent away to live on a lower part of the mountain, near the base. None of them argued, because they knew how the argument would end, and it was not a pretty end for them. So they went, they stepped down to their new life and engulfed themselves in the perpetual war that ravaged the plains: wars between the Mahjarrat, the Chelon-Mah and the Mahserrat, wars between the main factions and even more obscure tribes living on the dusty plains. Arachnea, however, was made to stay among the seclusive tribe on the top of the mountain- most of the time, within the mountain itself. From their new leader, they drew unknown knowledge and wisdom, were taught strange and worrying secrets, molded themselves to be different than before until they became the Sanskriit-Mah. The holy keepers. The Sanskriit-Mah Gielinor (Ancient) Under Icthlarin She was Deadly. Under Zaros She was Terrifying. The God Wars Fourth age Gielinor (Aged) And thus, Arachnea was returned to the realm of Gielinor and her history started anew. Soon, she found a magic guild that would bring her closer to the world, but was rejected because the guild leaders found out she was a Mahjarrat. Careless, she chided herself and vowed to hide her true self better from then on, until the time came. Made wise by her first encounter with the wizards, she tried again, in another magical school, and was rejected again. This time, not due to her nature. She saw it as an improvement, though made a note to herself that the guild-leaders would face a consequence of their choice. Now driven by the hunger for revenge, she looked for someone to aid in her planned destruction of these unworthy so-called magic schools. In the Aren Family she found what she was looking for. Vox Ex Affectum The Aren Family accepted her as a humble student- humiliating and demeaning, though a thorough lecture in patience and restraint. In the guise of an elf, she learned the basics of elemental magic anew, mostly water and air. But it was part of her plan to stay unnoticed like this for as long as she could. In her time with these dark mages, she met many of her "friends"; Julian Duphrane, Aranitus Aren, Zane Aren.... Oh yes, she enjoyed herself there. She even started to like some of them, something that would, in time, turn out to be a mistake. Together with Julian and Aranitus, she went out in the hunt for Aranitus' father, who did not live long after they set out for him. Alas, the enjoyable time in the Aren family, called Vox Ex Affectum, could not last forever. Yanille, under Eden Syivan, attacked and eventually destroyed the family; Aranitus escaped, though destroying the Aspera tower in the process. Luckily, Arachnea had thought of rescuing their valuable artifacts before the tower went down in a gigantic fireball. This, of course, ended the relaxed atmosphere in Vox Ex Affectum. Arachnea turned to the far north, hiding in a cave and cursing herself for surrounding herself with humans once more. She Was Disappointed. Weeks later, Arachnea was disturbed in her meditation. Julian Duphrane, the Demon Lord of Chaos himself, had foolishly entered her temporary residence. In her paranoia, Arachnea thought he was here just to gloat, and attacked. Not even a demon lord can withstand the power of an enraged Mahjarrat, and he was subdued quickly. To find the truth, Arachnea brought Julian to a secret place, preparing to torture him until he told her everything. A night pinned onto a water wheel in motion, being ducked under every two minutes, almost destroyed the demon. Lucky for him that he was rescued. Arachnea, however, retired to her cave once more. Too soon, she was disturbed again. A woman of around 35 rattled the peace of the cave, unsettling the mighty being within. It turned out to be a traveling mage sick of the horrible doings of the world. Arachnea extracted the woman's name; Wilma. The middle-aging one seemed curious as to what Arachnea was doing. In fact, she exasperated the old Mahjarrat so much that Arachnea let slip a silent prayer to Zaros. The foolish woman tried to ask Arachnea out. Eventually, Arachnea let slip on some of the knowledge of Zaros. The young woman seemed happy with what little she knew, so Arachnea apprenticed her; eventually brainwashing Wilma enough so she thought Arachnea was her mistress, whom she had to report everything important to. After this piece of magic, Arachnea sent the young one out to locate Zarosians foolish enough to make themselves noticeable. And surprised was Arachnea when Wilma actually found some. Under the leading of a Mahjarrat, no less. So she let Wilma continue the research of Oblitus's followers, while she herself pursued more important matters. Eventually, Arachnea made a pact with an old acquaintance: Aranitus Aren. They got engaged, and Arachnea had to reveal her true nature. No living thing, excepting maybe the other Mahjarrat, had ever seen Arachnea's true form. Of course, Aranitus was unsettled. Even more so when Arachnea sealed his tongue, rendering him unable to willingly tell anyone of Arachnea's true nature. They started making their plans, to spite their enemies by getting married right in front of their noses. Wilma's Death The plans were interrupted by Wilma's death. One late night, Wilma appeared near Aranitus' hideout with a loud scream. He found her in a bush, almost cleaved in half by a mighty sword-cut. While Aranitus did his best to heal her (He probably didn't even know why), Arachnea came along. She understood that the situation was hopeless for her young apprentice, and slave. So she decided that the White Knights had wrought this, and the White Knights should receive her spite. Arachnea picked Wilma up, and teleported to the White Knights Castle. The teleblock was easy to remedy; Arachnea just appeared above it and let herself gently to the ground. And then she let Wilma's body go up into a net of holy flames dedicated to The Great Lord. After this event, Arachnea withdrew from the world, smothering her loss and anger at the Death of Wilma. Eventually she returned, when it became clear that Wilma somehow had gotten herself revived in mysterious and strange ways. Wilma got involved in the Enchanted Gems legend, and another Mahjarrat, something Arachnea wasn't too fond of; then again, she never liked others of her race since her fall. Arachnea agreed to keeping one of Wilma's Gems in her house, safely away from the world. Some Gem Stories In the late evening, Aranitus summoned Arachnea to his house to talk about the Gems. She was slightly shocked to see the state he was in, with an eyepatch and all. They discussed a while, about giving Aranitus' demon friend, Julian Duphrane, the gem to keep Arachnea "Out of harm's way" and about their new ploy to dispatch Zenthos. (As if Arachnea needs to be held out of harms way) Sometime in the middle, a random persona by the name of Felix appeared and was led away by Julian, so as not to reveal the gems to him. While the two were gone, Aranitus convinced Arachnea to trust Julian (Who has been betraying her several times already) just enough. So Arachnea got up and started summoning the Gem in her safekeeping. It took several minutes, because Arachnea's house does resemble a high-security prison, just with more traps. Eventually, with Arachnea murmuring "Behold..... The Topaz" the Gem appeared, warm and damp from the journey. Arachnea carefully handed it to Julian, who had come in again. She made sure not to touch it, and reminded him again that if he lost it in any way, his life was nothing more worth. The Tale Continues Arachnea was called into the Aren tower, where Zenthos was trying to escape. He had entered through a rather dark and suspicious hole, freshly made by, you guessed it, himself. Too bad that Aranitus had trapped him after that. Now Zenthos was trying to escape, hindered by Julian Duphrane, Renthgar, Felix, Aranitus and Arachnea Aren. Xido, on the other hand, seemed more willing to help Zenthos, along with an unknown would-be assassin ranger who randomly appeared through the hole Zenthos had left. In the ensuing fight, Zenthos used his Freneskaen linguistics, to drop all humans in the room to their knees. Arachnea fell too, to not spoil her "Elven" appearance. As they rose again, she cleaved Zenthos' head almost in two even as Xido blew him clean through the keep wall. Aranitus, Xido and Arachnea stormed out to intercept Zenthos, while Renthgar, Julien and Areya battled with the would-be assassin Ranger. Zenthos had managed to summon his ship of undead, which now started to attack the four on the Keep's moat. Xido started some kind of storm, and so the battle went inside again. Eventually, Zenthos and the would-be assassin ranger (who was still not dead) turned into shadows and went to flee. The ranger escaped, but Arachnea managed to trap Zenthos, who went to hide in the shadows of Xido's armor. Aranitus eventually dispelled Xido's Family Ring, causing him to fade out of the tower. Zenthos escaped this way too, but at least he would not be around for a long, long time afterwards. Head wounds of that caliber heal slowly, even for Mahjarrat. Now, Zane Aren himself brought an army of undead to storm the tower. While Aranitus and Renthgar fought them, Arachnea headed upstairs to meet her "Stepdaughter". She found Areya in the process of trying to make a shiv. And Arachnea was nice to her! One needs good followers, and these must be loyal. But not get too close to them... Julian Duphrane, someone who Arachnea now knew was absolutely untrustworthy, called her to him once more, and told her another wild story about Aranitus. Not that she believed him and she left very soon. Leaving Duphrane with several unpleasant souvenirs in the form of biting, demon-headed potatoes and an angry band of Goblins. Then one day, Arachnea returned to Keep le Aren to find her daughter-in-law, Areya, kidnapped. Obviously, she is way displeased about this. Just as she is about to fly into a rage, Arachnea remembers the day before, where Xido betrayed them all, helping Zenthos to escape. Reluctantly, she recognizes him to be the bigger threat for the moment, and sets out to set up a trap that is supposed to keep him from betraying the Arens once and for all, pouring her rage into the devious traps. Of course, a trap of the sort she set takes a lot of power to build up, and her body slumps into a mini-hibernation, to keep the drain from harming her. Aranitus is hugely alarmed, as his wife seems to be dead. However, Arachnea wakes again, and starts plotting again at once, still exhausted from her trap-setting. Soon after, her letter to Elizabeth, the Queen of Ardougne, appears on the desk of the aforementioned person. It mentioned a minor threat, along with the information that Arachnea knew Elizabeth's real, mahjarratean name, and the request to get Areya and Felix back. Few days later, her request for Areya's release not having been answered yet, and Wilma getting her only remaining Gem in trouble, Arachnea decides to take matters into her own hands, and resolutely takes the Onyx off Wilma's hands. The following day, as she came into Ardougne, she saw, and couldn't believe her eyes; for it looked like Areya being burned at a stake. Not exactly a pleasant sight for the Mahjarrat who had grown to like the young woman somewhat. As a result, Arachnea set out to tell Kisbeth off once and for all; she set Ardougne on fire. Subtly, of course, but leaving an unmistakable trace that she was sure Kisbeth would notice and follow. Meeting Kisbeth. (!) Kisbeth must have been a little surprised when she found Arachnea completely peacefully, after having set a major city on fire. The conversation was full of hidden meaning and subtle jabs and threats. (expand) And Then I Died (!) One day, Arachnea realized how she had made a mistake in falling in love with Aranitus. Immediately she separated herself for several weeks, while getting him out of her head as well as possible. Then, she used a trick to convince Aranitus that he need not love her anymore; she faked her death in a very impressive way. The burning house and the bloodied cane in the wall convinced Aranitus completely. Arachnea was obviously still alive. She had taken possession of a gem, and was searching for a way to get all others, but one day it was gone. She raged for several days, then returned her attention to the world; it wanted to be supervised, too. Miss Assumed Name In the following times, she came closer to the worldly actions within the Order of Equilibrium. She helped the fighters defend her ex-love and husband Aranitus Aren and shrouded a corpse for them. (In grass, somehow) She also took an interest in the ensuing conflict of the Arens, egging Ataneq to start the fight for the title of Grandmaster and supreme head of the Arens. The Order of Equilibrium disbanded off quite soon, without ever having taught Arachnea the fighting she joined for originally. She was not pleased and raged in her home, until she felt a wave of power pass the island. Few moments later she was in full activity, finding out what it had been. As she cast a look in her fire, she saw a face she recognized. It spoke to her: "You know what to do, my time has come." And Arachnea knew what it meant; she was now a Helper. But as the Chosen did not require help yet, Arachnea sought out a traveling Lunar mage who was willing to teach her. The price was a bit high for Arachnea's taste, as she had to tell the story of her life without lying. But she did learn the Lunar magics from the friendly old mage, Lin. Fire Rising When she was sure of her knowledge of Lunar magic, Arachnea's "Human" face stretched into a grin. She knew who was awakening. She knew, of course, that she would be the one to help her student's Helpers. The first one she had to work with was Nymal. She used an old trick of hers, the shadow mage. After Nymal had defeated the picture alive, Arachnea granted her the set pieces. Days later, she helped "Doc" on his way by teleporting him to Ardougne, suddenly and without asking. Her third help was swiping five terror mages aside from Hansuke as they went in for a killing strike. Now she sits and waits patiently, preparing all her plans, including the setup to ruin Falador from the inside. The Ritual of the Mahjarrat The time came for a new Ritual to commence. They had all felt it, when one of the "greater" Mahjarrat died, and knew that the time for their own rejuvenation drew close. Arachnea had met with several Mahjarrat before the Ritual commenced. She arrived at the Ritual Grounds shortly before the choosing was to start. The verbal exchange was heated on the Zamorakian's and Zarosian's side. The Mahjarrat formed a loose rectangle, with the Zamorakians on one side, the Zarosians on the other and those who would not tell, or served both gods when the need be, on the sidelines. Suggestions were placed, threats were thrown. Both Kisbeth, Ptolemos, Kemses and several others were suggested as potential sacrifices. True to tradition, the verbal sparring soon turned into a real fight. Arachnea stayed on the sidelines, until she discovered Draezkorn planning Kisbeth's demise. She argued with him and his cronies for a while, not really getting into a fight. She had just thrown Draezkorn's crony, who had suggested her as the race whore, at his master when the Ritual itself began. Arachnea turned and teleported closer to the Ritual Stone, directly next to the sacrifice where there was an empty space. The skies roiled and the ground shook when the sacrifice died, releasing her power to the surrounding Mahjarrat. Arachnea, Kisbeth, Tenebra, and Draezkorn, who flew above the Stone, were closest to the eruption of power. After the Ritual itself was over, and there were renewed, fleshy faces on all sides, the gathering of Mahjarrat started to disband. Arachnea was approached by Draezkorn's crony, whom she warned that fighting her might well be the last mistake he ever made. The last thing she did at the Grounds was to watch the battle between a full Mahjarrat and a half-breed, trying to prove itself worthy of attending the Ritual. After she had watched for a while, smiling, Arachnea teleported away in a peculiar storm of Glyphs, to her home, where important matters awaited her. The New Arcane College As the Ritual had come to a closure and she was fully renewed, Arachnea set out to help the Arens once more. She knew they needed the help and could not deny herself to see Aranitus once more, even though she knew it was a fool's dream. She called upon Ptolemos, a Zamorakian Mahjarrat she knew to be rather weak, and upon his appearance, convinced him he had lost his magical powers. When he failed to use his renewed power because he believed he had lost them, she laughed and sealed him in her personal dungeons. Arachnea was called into the Kandar Institute of Magic, where Chris and Aranitus revealed that they had seen through her disguise as Leila Kala Aren. Aranitus was severely shaken by the final revelation. Arachnea's first new lesson was a failure, and she decided that, against her best hopes and expectations, she needed to learn how to teach again. A duel (or three vs. her) in the Runespan, following the Wizard's Conclave ended up with Arachnea being banished to a nearby plane. As it turned out, she found herself unable to return on her own, as the plane did not permit the full opening of a portal from within itself. She needs a trustworthy person on Gielinor to help! She can trust no Aren, so she has turned to the one she knows best; Aspertina Feu Vigilantis. She contacted a random Aren through the ring and told him to find her and tell her what he'd heard. With the help of her most trusted servant, Arachnea tread the ground of Gielinor once more. Arachnea's Bracelet As a result of her banishment to a nearby plane, Arachnea found she had to build herself a foolproof way to return to her home in any eventuality she might face. To ensure that it would be impossible to lose and easy to access, she prepared a magical bracelet. During the designing process, she constantly reminded herself that the bracelet might have to fend off hostile attempts of removal. As a result, she started anew time after time. By creating several layers of enchanted gems, she figured, she could place a multitude of enchantments within the bracelet, to make it impossible to remove. She started with a core of Onyx, a substance extremely hard to come by and yet she had enough for her thin bracelet core. A thin layer of Dragonstone adds to the protection against direct physical attacks. After the dragonstone, a layer of diamond is enchanted to hold off any attempts to enchant the bracelet. Ruby, following the diamond, contains the enchantment against elemental magic. Upon the ruby layer, a plating of Emerald was placed, holding the main protection against physical attacks. Sapphire composes the second last layer, set with the simple enchantment of keeping the bracelet intact against most raw magical attacks. The very thin Ivory on the top is charged with fitting itself snugly, too snugly to the wearer's arm. In time, more accurately over the course of a night, the enchantment on the ivory will tighten the bracelet so much that it will fit itself flawlessly into the wearer's skin, leaving almost no trace of itself. To ensure that all her enchantment worked perfectly, she took a length of the alloy to the newly founded Mages' Research Institute, where she instructed the mages to cast any and every spell they could think of at the material When it was found completely resilient against magical attacks, she proceeded to the Academy of Heroes, where she asked the residents to attempt to destroy her alloy with the power of their swords and other melee weapons. As a final, and absolute test, she made a spare bracelet and fitted it onto Ptolemos, charging the Onyx layer within to inform her of his whereabouts and his attempts to remove it, be they successful or not. Within My Prison After capturing Ptolemos, Arachnea held him within her prison for weeks. In regular intervals, she used him for experiments where she would turn parts of his body into fruit, only to change it back again with a new formula. Not all attempts were successful, but as she progressed, she made sure to eradicate all signs of her experimentation from his body. A while after Ptolemos' capture, Arachnea called for Azulra, easily defeating her within the confines of Aspera and casting her into the prison beside Ptolemos. Azulra's and Ptolemos' minions were frantic with their masters gone. A servant of Ptolemos, Rosaline, came traveling out from Forinthry, where she was intercepted by Aspertina Feu at Arachnea's command. Aspertina told Rosaline few things, beside the fact that "Leila Kala Aren" was the one who held her master imprisoned, and sent her in the direction of Aspera. Rosaline turned up near Aspera with several chaos monks at her side. They were decimated with ease by Arachnea's destructive magic, even their prayers to Zamorak could not stop her. Arachnea took the opportunity, saving the life of two of them, on the condition that they be her slaves forevermore - without them noticing. The last remaining Chaos Monk was turned into a zombie and sent to retrieve Rosaline, who had fled. Azulra's minions were much quicker in their reaction, and severely more aggressive. A group of demons approached Arachnea's house and attempted to enter it. Being what she was, Arachnea had not intended this to be easy, or even likely. A force wall surrounded the house, burning the first demon to attempt a frontal attack. The demons, being more intelligent than most demons by far, found a weak spot in the barrier and, after disrupting it, broke through. Planning ahead is a great thing, Arachnea reflected as they found only a small room that started to move downward, to the lower levels of her dungeon. For her own entertainment, she misguided the Demons slightly to cause strife between them, even though she was unsuccessful in the end. Meanwhile, Azulra did her Mahjarrat best to escape her cell all on her own. With a small pin, she fumbled in the lock of her cell until she managed to break it open. Arachnea appeared to attempt to put a bracelet on her too, but Azulra turned into her smoke form even as she summoned one of her demons to fend off Arachnea. As she summoned a giant spider to distract the demon, Arachnea smiled inside; She was seen as a failure again. Azulra managed to teleport away without a bracelet, and Arachnea destroyed the demonic forces she had left with ease. Reality Strikes After Azulra's escape from her prison, Arachnea moves her plans for Ptolemos along faster. Only days after the prison break, Aspertina Feu met a cleric near the Wilderness wall north of Varrock; a high priestess on search for the 'emissary', one of Ptolemos' aliases. On Arachnea's command, Aspertina directed the high priestess, Rosaline, to Aspera Tower, where she would find 'Leila Kala Aren', who knew where the emissary was being kept. Rosaline turned up near Aspera a few days later, with five minor priests at her back. Arachnea met them in the guise of Leila, carefully mentioning that she did know where Ptolemos was upon their queries. 'However,' she lectured them, 'I wouldn't dream of telling you.' Rosaline, enraged by this, sent her henchmen forward to seize the cocky lady. Arachnea, in the vicinity of Aspera and being what she was, easily ripped several of the priests apart with magic. The remaining clerics, horrified by her display of power, prayed to Zamorak to protect them. Against the protection of a god, even Arachnea could not do much; instead, she made the ground cave in under the priests, causing them to falter in their faith. With glowing eyes, she stepped down to them. 'I make you an offer,' she told them. It was a very cheap favor; they sign a simple contract and in return, are let free. Two of the three priests accepted at once, signing quickly and running as fast as their legs would carry them once they were let go. The last refused stubbornly, not submitting to anything Arachnea offered him. Impressed with his faith, yet disgusted by his refusal, Arachnea split his head, killing him instantly. Taking a long look at the corpse, she reanimated it and sent it to hunt after Rosaline, who had fled in the ensuing skirmish. Later the same day, she offered Ptolemos a deal. She would let him go, even giving him back his magical powers! All this and more and the only thing he needed to do in return was to put on an ivory bracelet. Ptolemos was suspicious. It was too good an offer to be true, really. Freedom, magic and power just for a bracelet? He declined. Arachnea raised an eyebrow at him. 'I would have thought you smarter than that, Ptolemos.' Without effort, she forcefully added the bracelet to his right arm. Ptolemos was enraged, but Arachnea silenced him by cuttingly making her promise true; she told him the secret of how she had taken his magical powers. This revelation surprised and enraged Ptolemos even further, and he teleported away. Arachnea, satisfied that he was wearing the bracelet and would shun nothing to remove, seated herself in her best chair to wait. While she waited for news of what Ptolemos had done to remove her bracelet, the war against the soul-eating lich, Thorvald, ran high in Ardougne. Seeing it as her partial duty to aid in the war, Arachnea made an appearance in the southern battle, decimating zombies by the hundreds. Azulra contacted her at some point, bringing a worrying message of Ptolemos and the creation of a weapon of mahjarratbane. Arachnea agreed that it was a dangerous object, before returning to her home, where a message was waiting for her, combined with a number of coordinates. 'Ah!' A smile crept onto Arachnea's lips. 'I figured he might do that, although he always struck me too cowardly to injure himself for such a cause..... there must be something behind it.' The next three days were hectic, as she prepared a special spell to regain the Bracelet and all the information stored within. Occasionally, she could get coordinates to the location, but her attempts to scry the small item were largely unsuccessful. It took seemingly forever, but eventually Arachnea reached the bracelet from afar and reclaimed it, leaving the hand of Rosaline in its stead, a hand that Azulra had given her. The bracelet was still attached to Ptolemos' hand, proof of its near indestructibility, endurance and engineering. Mahjarrat Dealings Arachnea and Azulra were worried. Ptolemos' mahjarratbane dagger posed a threat to what remained of the Mahjarrat race; it was an abomination in the face of the Evil Creator God. The two females reached a mutual agreement to destroy Ptolemos, along with his magical weapon. As such, an assault was soon mounted on the fort of Ptolemos' ally, Kemses, where the traitor was in hiding, probably recovering after creating his weapon. Azulra's demonic forces led the main charge. They stormed toward the castle, being deflected by an unholy ward that kept them from entering further. Gargoyles and other flying demons sent rocks tumbling at the barrier from above, while the rest of the demon army stood strong even as Kemses' men peppered them with arrows from the battlements. Arachnea found the solution soon enough, and a single human was spotted walking toward the fort's entrance. It was a Saradominist Monk, a strange sight in between the large amount of demons writhing under the barrage of arrows. The small human appeared to see nothing of the demons, continuing toward the gate. A staff in her right hand, she raised her holy symbol to the gate with her left. A bright light shone, as the barrier trembled, cracked, and dispersed. The Monk disappeared in the rush of demons that raced into the fortress through the now wide-open doors. A large, casualty-heavy battle ensued between the warriors of Kemses, Azulra's demons and a number of Aren Mages, called in from Aspera. Eventually, Kemses' forces were forced back and decimated, leaving the demons in possession of the keep. This was the time when Ptolemos called upon Azulra to reveal herself. After a few minutes of arguing, Azulra agreed to meet Ptolemos at his premises, bringing with her a hellhound and Arachnea, who remained silent and invisible at her side. As the two stepped through the door to Ptolemos' room, they were entangled in a binding spell. Ptolemos greeted them with confidence, not noticing Arachnea's presence in the room. He flicked back a cloth from his bed to reveal a glowing orb. 'It will explode in thirty seconds,' he informed them, as he started gathering his magic to spirit himself away. Azulra immediately started building up a defense, while Arachnea thought faster. She waved her invisible hand, causing the exploding orb to attach itself to Ptolemos even as he cast his teleportation spell. A look of fear passed his face as he vanished from the room. Mere moments later, his aura winked out. Arachnea was torn. Ptolemos had been a danger, a threat. The removal of his presence had been a necessity, and she did not enjoy the 'victory'. More silent than usual, she gathered her mages from Kemses' fortress and retreated back to Aspera, then to her home, where she seated herself in a chair as every bit of knowledge about Ptolemos she possessed stormed her brain, to reach the conclusion whether he had been good or bad. Within all this, Azulra again contacted Arachnea. Arachnea was annoyed by her constant nagging and dragging, but agreed to meet her in a remote location again. Azulra seemed very uplifted after Ptolemos' "death", carelessly flaunting her rejuvenated form and casually killing a troll child that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Finally, Arachnea had enough and asked what Azulra wanted. It turned out that Azulra had obtained an amount of Bane Ore through means unknown to Arachnea and wanted her to tune it, as she had the knowledge and power to use the Lunar Magicks, which included a spell that might be usable for this purpose. Reluctantly, Arachnea agreed. She called Ptolemos' hand to herself, using it to tune the Bane Ore into a shimmering heap of Mahjarratbane. What Azulra did not know, and did not notice, was that Arachnea had subtly removed a decent portion of the Bane Ore before tuning it, to further study it later. Azulra, happy with her tuned Mahjarratbane, claimed her half of the Ore and spirited herself away. Arachnea looked on her share with moderate contempt, before sending it to the most highly secured part of her personal weapon vault, to never be heard of again. In the evening, Arachnea found a letter on her doorstep. Unusual, as most letters failed to find her house, even by magic. She carefully picked it up and read the message within. So much trouble to send an invitation! she thought. For indeed, that was all the letter was: and invitation to the "brave warriors" who "handsomely stood against the undead hordes." Arachnea snorted and tossed the invitation away. As she did, her eyes blanked out, showing her a glimpse of the future. Something was to happen at this party, something vitally important. Sighing resigned, Arachnea gathered a few items, before preparing herself to journey to the location of the celebration. In the guise of Leila Kala Aren once again, she stepped up to the house housing the feast. Spirits were running high, as alcohol flowed and old friends patted each other on the back, appreciative of their great victory. Arachnea was hardly interested; she had invested near nothing in the fight against Thorvald and neither deserved nor wanted any praise for her involvement. The only thing that caught her interest was her former husband, Aranitus Aren. From a short conversation, it was clear that he was still in great turmoil about their separation. As Arachnea, not intending to stay long, was on the way out, she chanced upon the unlucky man once more. He accused her of having come merely to torment him, to which Arachnea could only answer that she never wanted to hurt him. I saw my path; it did no longer converge with his. With great effort, and even greater sadness, I tore myself away from him. Even now, looking at his face fills my heart, my heart of stone, with pain and sadness. -... Aranitus rose, shouting that he never wished to see her again. With a deep look from her onyx eyes, Arachnea waved once before his face, shimmering out of his sight. The spell had caught hold; he could not see her again unless she willed it so, or he broke the enchantment. Knowing now what the important event of the day had been, Arachnea retired to her home, where she remained seated in her large armchair for three days, mourning what she and Aranitus had had together. When Arachnea recovered from her temporary fit, she stood tall as ever. Back straightened out, her velvet black eyes showing nothing more of her grief than they ever had. So adorned, she transported herself to the desert, noting how the else so desolate area grew populated once more, especially with those of her kin. Near the Academy of Heroes, she found the source that had called her. It was a younger Mahjarrat, disguised as a genie. Arachnea nearly scoffed from the presumptuousness. After a number of minor insults flung in either way, the other Mahjarrat admitted her name; Lu-Kreeza. Arachnea, fearing nothing, revealed her own name. The pleasantries having been served enough, the two females chatted farther. Arachnea got to know about another Mahjarrat in the world; named Mavelus. According to the genie Mahjarrat, he was as stealthy as Dimissione, who was always infamous for his extremely recognizable and outgoing, boasting behavior: A man who held no secrets and rubbed his existence and true form into the face of everyone. Another interesting point, quickly found and interrogated by Arachnea, was Lu-Kreeza's missing presence at the last Ritual. She had no defense, although Arachnea thought to herself how good an ally the kharadian might make. The next day in the Jolly Boar. Arachnea, on this day in the guise of Pastalina Hellion, had occupied a table in the corner and was busily working with a large lump of clay and a glass of cider. Admittedly, the cider was mostly ignored as skilled hands caressed the clay, slowly molding it into a spherical shape. At about this time, a stranger in blue entered the inn. He conversed with Arachnea for a while, by large ignoring her handiwork on the table. To her, the thought of Lu-Kreeza's words about the one called Mavelus crept into her mind. Spurned by a particular comment from her, the stranger stormed out. Arachnea pondered for a short while about the appearance, before returning to her clay shape. She lifted it into the air with magic, when suddenly the window in front of her exploded inward from a powerful bust of shadow magic. Outside was, grinning, the stranger in blue, who turned heel and fled into the night. "Incompetent idiot!" she shouted after him, but he was gone. Clearly, one of her Kin. However, not one of the more intelligent. Shaking her head, Arachnea commanded the fractured window back together, as she picked up her clay form. With a few muttered words, it reformed- and brought forth an incredibly lifelike head, the head of a Dragonkin. Another word, and the material accepted a leathery texture and grey color, creating a perfect replica of a dragonkin's head. Arachnea slid one of the eyelids up and almost shivered at the vicious eye glaring back. The Redemption of Arachnea Where Arachnea finds the dawn of a new age with Evgeni and the death of Azulra. Meanwhile, a new Aren Civil War casts its foreshadows upon the brightening day, while Azulra's relatives enter Gielinor to disrupt the balance. The next weeks were a busy time. Kisbeth called in on one late evening with shocking news: Guthix' resting place had been found and Sliske, the ever-evasive, had ended his existence. The Edicts of Guthix, ever-present since the God Wars, were no more. The implications were hard to comprehend. The gods will return. Old alliances will die, new ones evolve, and the whole world will engulfed in war.... ...... War. Arachnea shivered slightly, even though it was a rather warm summer day. She thanked Kisbeth for the message and excused herself, with the reasoning that she had to plan her actions following the reveal. She did not get much time to plan. The Mahjarrat were in uproar, and Arachnea met an unusually large number of them in the course of days. These meetings turned out a number of interesting things: For one, the one she had met in the Jolly Boar was called Mavelus, and he was not friendly. Another interesting thing was the rumour of Ptolemos' great plans; according to Arachnea's informants, he planned to use his Mahjarratbane dagger to overthrow Zamorak in the past. Between these well-known dealings, something more sinister showed; A few of the Mahjarrat had begun to conspire against one of their own. Arachnea became involved as Xolotl asked her to; The plan grew, and the target was... Azulra. A former ally; though I never liked Azulra. Infernal, she called herself, and infernally annoying she was. Yes, I believe she deserves what is coming to her. *Xolotl, Myestial and Arachnea swear a blood pact that they will kill Azulra. *Arachnea and Xolotl meet near Lumbridge and talk about vandalism. *They then proceed to the desert where a test of power will be occurring. Whoever scores the first hit, wins - and incurs the penalty from their blood oath: instant death or eternal servitude. *Azulra attends the duel, watching from the sideline. When Arachnea accidentally throws Xolotl at her, she joins the fight. *Arachnea and Xolotl turn on her, in quick order defeating her with minor penalties. *She meets with Evgeni. He confesses his love for her, and they do "it" all night. *Yurlungur approaches the Aren Tower. Arachnea watches him a while, and converses briefly with him. *She continues her things with Evgeni. *Kisbeth visits the two at the Academy of Heroes. *She is visited by Yoral Neraka, and agrees to teach him the Common Tounge. *Demelza Aren visits her and foreshadows the next Aren Civil War. *Ptolemos falls to the hands of his own creation, Yoral and Domino. *Ptolemos mysteriously reappears; When Arachnea tentatively contacts him, it turns out that he had visited his past in Freneskae. She gains a sliver of respect for him for his more mature way of being, though she still has no love for his plans. *Arachnea and Evgeni discuss their child's name, eventually coming to an agreement. *Arachnea meets Lu-Kreeza, who notices that Arachnea is pregnant. She warns her that this carries danger, and offers her help should it be needed. A new Aren Civil War My beautiful baby Ptolemos was calling the Kin. Arachnea and Evgeni both heeded the call, Arachnea ponderous about Ptolemos' newfound resolve and inner conviction. After the initial disagreements and questions about why they had been called, the fifteen-ish mahjarrat gathered around Ptolemos to hear what he had to say. Ptolemos spoke clearly, full of conviction. The gods are fools, he preached, caring only for their dominance. We, who have been their valuable and loyal servants, they see only as disposable tools to an end. The only end this can bring us, is the quick and complete eradication of our entire species. What we should do, is convene on the gods and take the world for ourselves. Arachnea listened. She knew, of course, that Ptolemos was right, at lest in some ways. In others, he was as wrong as he always had been. She urged Evgeni to stay and listen until the preacher was done, even as other mahjarrat left in flocks from disinterest and rage. Ptolemos came to the end of his presentation. He offered the remaining mahjarrat the choice to join him, claiming it to be the only way to survive. With a sweeping gesture and an enormous discharge of magic, Ptolemos welded his hand to the skies, creating a new constellation. I dreamed a Dream.... : Coming soon, the short story of Arachnea's venture beyond all borders during her hibernation. Don't you ever die? Arachnea was far out in the wild, studying the strange rifts that had started to appear throughout the world. Cautious experimentation had led to little results for her so far, but she felt she had gained some headway when another day of studies was starting to draw to an end. Suddenly, a chill swept over the landscape, momentarily making it look bleak and desolate even though she was in a otherwise lush place. As she looked around, a whispering voice spoke "You're a hard one to find." Not in the mood for petty games after her long day, Arachnea, still in her disguise, called for the voice's owner to reveal itself. In the shadows of the trees nearby, a shape formed quickly. Within the shadows, it was impossible to discern any details, merely that it was roughly humanoid. Again, she demanded that it show itself and finally, the shape stepped forward and revealed.... Ptolemos. "Dear Spirits," Arachnea whispered to herself. Out loud, she only said his name and added "Don't you ever die?" He responded halfheartedly, clearly not wishing to discuss the subject. Instead, he soon turned his attention to the energy rift Arachnea had been studying and asked about her knowledge of them. Truthfully, she replied that hardly any information had been coaxed from the rifts, except that they were likely a manifestation of Gielinor's wounds. Silently, she reasoned that it likely had something to do with Guthix' death. Ptolemos explained to her that in his current state, he felt more to the rifts than most. Then, he went on to broach his real subject- a contaminated rift he had found after tracking his killer. The rift, Ptolemos reasoned, must have been tainted by the dragonkin who killed him and his army. To stop the desecration of the rift, only the death of the dragonkin would be a possible solution, as closing or healing the rifts was not an option- that much Arachnea knew from her limited experience. She also knew, however, that dragonkin were creatures not to be trifled with in any way- especially one which had proven its power so explicitly. Ptolemos went on to explain his true reason for finding her that day- He had attempted to tune his mahjarratbane to the creature even as it ripped him apart. Clearly, it had been ineffective, but he still harbored hope that the method could be used. Blood from the dragonkin he had, a few droplets on the remains of the mahjarratbane dagger, and he could provide more bane or- at least he said so. Still reluctant, yet resigned, Arachnea finally agreed to aid with the crazy scheme- if Ptolemos spoke the truth, it might be the only thing that could save the world she and her relatives lived in. Apparently relieved, Ptolemos asked Arachnea to give his greetings to her daughter and finally vanished. Arachnea looked at the spot where his shape had been mere moments before balefully for a time, before turning her eyes to the skies. Sunset was coming, and coming faster than she'd thought. Muttering to herself, she stuck her staff deep into the earth and whispered something to it, before stepping backward through an invisible doorway, leaving the forest serenely quiet again. Only the stick reminded of any humanoid activity in the area.... Gielinor (Recent) *Pyris meets Arachnea, along with his mate Faeyrin Azazel. They talk at length, Arachnea amusing herself by toying with the minds of the two others, suggesting repeatedly that she had poisoned their tea. Through the conversation, it is found out that Faeyrin is a completely different creature from everything Arachnea had ever seen. She tells Arachnea some of her history in return for Arachnea teaching her how to shield her aura from discovery. When the two visitors leave, Arachnea cuddles with Evgeni for a while, who had been secluding himself. *Arachnea meets with Ptolemos once again, conversing with him about Blisterwood and its capabilities. He presses her about it, eventually revealing how Azulra is attempting to return to life with the help of a vampyre and how he wants to use the rare material to stop it. Reluctantly, as in all dealings with Ptolemos, Arachnea eventually agrees to lend Rosaline the Blisterwood to remove the vampyre. : She cast a slight enchantment on the wand, however, allowing her to observe what happens to and around it. Thus, she finds out how Ptolemos lied to her- again- and was likely trying to enlist the vampyre's help in the opposite of what he proposed to do. Then, the connection broke as the wand was annihilated. *She promises both Altanquin and Lu-Kreeza that she will find them an ally, planning to unite the two. *She meets with Azeroth Gonzo and talks to him for an alliance at the Ritual. *Arachnea meets with Marethyu and his wife, Scorpiana, to discuss a possible alliance. The results of Marethyu's promises are uncertain. *Ptolemos gathers a number of Mahjarrat and explains his plans for defeating the Dragonkin Lashual to them. *The day to defeat the Dragonkin came, and Arachnea arrived at the designated place to fight shortly after Evgeni, Marethyu, Scorpiana and Ptolemos' brother, Strabach. Together, the five (and Rosaline) bring down the Dragonkin after a while of intense fighting. Shortly thereafter, the pregnant Scorpiana goes into labor and Arachnea joins the other mahjarrat's husband, aiding another birth. *The Ritual of the Mahjarrat approaches. Arachnea arrives late and converses briefly with Marethyu, Altanquin and Halcyone before another, more unfortunate, latecomer is sacrificed. Afterward, the mahjarrat disperse quickly, but Arachnea stays behind to talk with Evgeni, Altanquin, Renac and Dragvaul (and one more whom I don't remember the name of). *She visits the Academy of Heroes to scold Halcyone for her recent actions. After a while of conversing she recedes, leaving her daughter to consider her choices. *She views Renac and Xeivyr sparring, before making her presence known. They talk about a number of things and Arachnea agrees to a sort of deal with Renac. When he oversteps his allowance, she blasts him away from her and unwittingly impales him on a tree almost thirty meters away. *Arachnea remotely meets Zarin Renderra and Evelyn Aren via the use of one of her constructs, proving the considerable power of her constructs before Zarin manages to magically disable it. *Through a somewhat lucky incident, Arachnea finds out- much to her annoyance- that Ptolemos is still alive. Following up on her leads, she discovers Rosaline Haines in the guise of Rebecca Bloomington in the Varrock Museum. They talk briefly about Ptolemos, his cat-like ability to survive anything and everything and his current whereabouts. With a note to visit Alorah Taredi, Arachnea leaves Rosaline to her business again, resisting the temptation to annihilate her completely. *Arachnea meets Ptolemos' brother Strabach and tells him what she knows about Ptolemos- in exchange for Strabach convincing Rosaline to lessen her hate of Arachnea. *Lothorian Foryx calls her to a temple deep under Morytania, before proceeding to question her about Elder Artefacts and their relation to the Dragonkin. She does not get time to tell him everything she knows before he leaves again. In exchange for the knowledge, he grants her access to the temple which turns out to be a Dragonkin Archive in active use. *She meets her daughter, Halcyone, again in the ruins of Bandos' Tower. After exchanging pleasantries of sorts, she offers to show Halcyone the Dragonkin Archive. Halcyone agrees and is somewhat impressed by the knowledge contained in the Archive, but scared off by the arrival of a live dragonkin. Fortunately, the two were able to remain unseen by the dragonkin thanks to a dip into the Shadow Realm. Arachnea also notes that Halcyone's face and hands are oddly worn and drawn and comments, but Halcyone declines to explain, leaving her mother to worry in silence. *Arachnea visits Lothorian Foryx's home and finds his wife, daughter and two of their blooded Coven members in distress. Revealing herself, she offers the mistrusting Vampyres her help. When they reluctantly accept, she proves herself by quietly reassuring them that everything was okay with the hurt vampyre and that she would not have any lasting damage. *Heading back from the Foryx Citadel, she notices a strange figure in the woods. After a failed attempt to question it, it attacks her, but is quickly defeated by Arachnea's superior magical skills. She brought it to a cell in her home for further study. *The Mobile Information Collecting Engines (MICE) sent out to Varrock return with news of the departure of Rosaline Haines from her place next to Ptolemy Dean. Arachnea is intrigued. Current Role-Play *Alorah Taredi asks for Arachnea's attendance in a meeting in Al Kharid. She visits, learning little new, though gaining an idea about Alorah's future destination. The halfbreed also gives her a silver bracelet with a zarosian symbol and an 'A' engraved into it. *Ptolemos meets Arachnea again after she traced him down to an old fortress. They converse at length about Ptolemos' absence, his ability to find hiding spots and the dangers of Freneskae. *Arachnea, while in the process of building a World Gate in her back yard, is approached by Renac with a peculiar offer. After some debate, they come to terms. *Guided by her meeting with Ptolemos, Arachnea visits the home of Marethyu, where she meets Alorah Taredi again. The halfling shares her story of Freneskae with Arachnea, concluding with apathy at her failure. Arachnea encourages the young creature, suggesting to her that not all is lost and offers to teach her, along with Marethyu, more of the zarosian faith the way it was presented to them. Appearance Arachnea has the ability to shapeshift at will, and she does so frequently, only rarely showing her true form. There is one distinguishing mark all her forms have, this being her eyes. After centuries of attempts, she has been proven incapable of changing the color of her eyes from black, though her illusionary skills allow her to hide their true nature. Lich Form In her lich form, Arachnea stands at 7'0, with a permanent grin etched into her featured. Her eyes are, at the first glance, black. Should you examine them for a period of time, however, they appear an indefinable color that seems to shimmer out of view as soon as you try to focus on it, making it extremely hard to look her into the eyes. She wears a set of deep forest green robes that are not only decently armored but allow great freedom of movement. Rejuvenated Rejuvenated, Arachnea will remain at the- for a Mahjarrat- meager height of 7'0. She appears taller than in her unrejuvenated lich form, thanks to her renewed magical might and its inevitable radiation of strength. The ridges on her head have a curios mark- their octarine coloring makes them seem to have a life on their own or, to those not versed in the magical arts, be completely invisible. Aranea Aranea was the alias Arachnea used the first time she joined the Vox Ex Affectum. In this form, she appeared to be an aged elf female clad in white robes. She wielded a bouquet of flowers, or a cane (in her later days of this form). Aranea had gray/white hair and stands at 5'6. Leila Kala Aren Leila Kala Aren, Aren Archmage of Aspera, is Arachnea's current Aren alias. This form stands at 5'5, with the usual Aren black hair, although her eyes remain black as coal, dulled by the transformation. Leila is frequently met near the entrance of Aspera, sitting in her wide armchair, reading an unspecified book, which is assumed to contain Arachnea's Notes. She wears golden glasses of the type that we expect old teachers to. Gallery Aranea - With Cane.png|"Aranea" in all her late glory. Aranea as Amanda.png|"Amanda Fisher", epic mage. Pastalina Hellion.png|"Pastalina Hellion" Beachwear.png|Arachnea all set for a beach party. She has trouble getting a decent tan, though. Arachnea_chathead3.png|Arachnea's Rejuvenated Face. Queeny1.png|An old disguise Skills and Abilities Magic Arachnea is well known and feared for her proficiency in shadow magic. She has gained a decent understanding of the Shadow Realm, although Arachnea recollects that the place stinks, lacks color and frankly, is barely useful in honest combat, only of real use in some very complicated events. Regardless, she has come to value it highly as a means of evading eyes with ill intent. Much less known is Arachnea's immense healing power. Mahjarrat are known for their destructive abilities, not their reconstructive. Within her knowledge of healing magic lies at least part of her secret to age-wise immortality. It also influences her ability to shapeshift, as well as her physical combat abilities. In most, if not all, other schools of magic, possibly excepting Ikra Magic and the Blitzen Vekon technique, Arachnea has trained vigorously and become a dangerous combatant. Were she restricted to any specific school or element of magic, she would lose little lethality. The magic that Arachnea favors most in many cases, is the use of mind magic to prevent loss of memory. Said application of magic grants her the ability to learn at a far steeper rate than most students, while it preserves all her previous knowledge for future use. Within combat, Arachnea's use of personal gravity manipulation endangers people. Coupled with her unusually agile fighting style, she may suddenly attack you while standing upright on a wall or even from the ceiling. Melee Magic frequently refusing to work, or working wrongly, in Freneskrae, Arachnea learned ways to defend herself without the use of magic. Within melee combat, she has learned the use of a number of weapons to varying degrees of proficiency. Her greatest danger lies in agility. Uncommon for Mahjarrat, who may be viewed as "Tanks" - Able to withstand heavy blows as well as dealing them out. The armor of these people is often a nuisance and reduces their speed and freedom of movement. Arachnea is not a fan of heavy armor; She believes that the hits she cannot deflect with her combative abilities are hits she deserves and should learn from. Since there is no gain to be had in being struck by lethal blows, her robes are nevertheless reinforced enough to take the deadly edge off strikes. Following up on her agile fighting style, it is natural that she developed a certain understanding of martial arts. A technique used by her mostly for evasion, but if she really decides to hit someone, said person may expect to be taking at least several steps back while clutching their stomach. Swords are things most Mahjarrat have come into contact with, one way or another. Arachnea never favored this way of fighting, especially after the Battles of Blasted Mountain. She did accept that it would become necessary eventually, though, and learned to handle the sharp things. Other *''Diplomacy'' Arachnea is a born diplomat. Her way of speaking is in almost all cases completely noncommittal, and perfectly neutral. She does not take sides, she delegates. *''Arts and Crafts'' Arachnea is quite a skilled Artisan. Though the use of magic helps her shape materials into any desired form, she frequently devotes time and effort to creating objects of use and beauty. Weaknesses *''Ranged combat'' Arachnea is not good with anything that involves any kind of bow. Even when throwing a stone, she is not very proficient. She does not like ranged combat, she cannot aim well with this form of ranged combat, and she is absolutely clear on that magic is a much better form of this. *''Gullibility'' Arachnea can be tricked somewhat easily; She does not have a knack for seeing through intricate plots. *''Boredom'' Arachnea is often bored by long periods of inactivity, even though she has lots to do. This can lead to strange decisions or actions, which in turn may lead to potentially dangerous situations. Languages spoken Ranging from best to worst in descending order. Arachnea has a natural affinity for languages and enjoys learning them. *Old Freneskraen (Master) *Freneskraen (Master) *Ancients (Master) *Old gnomish (Good) *Common (Good) *Gnomish (Good) *Ghost (Good) *Elven (Good) *Fairy (Good) *Kharadian (Good) *Eastern (Semifluent) *Dwarven (Semifluent) *Monkey (Semifluent) With the use of interpretive magic, Arachnea is able to understand most other languages at least semifluently. Languages written Ranging again from best to worst in descending order. Arachnea is not particularly fond of writing, as she finds that written information falls into the wrong hands far too easily. She prefers the relative ease of the spoken word, combined with the knowledge that a word on your lips is by far more versatile than a word in a book. *Old Freneskraen (Master) *Freneskraen (Good) *Ancients (Good) *Common (Good) *Gnomish (Good) *Old gnomish (Good) *Elven (Semifluent) *Kharadian (Semifluent) *Eastern (Semifluent) *Dwarven (Can read) *Fairy (Can read) Personality Arachnea, after Eons upon Eons of living and learning, has become someone who will neither trust anyone, nor believe that anyone could possibly be stupid enough to trust her. She still frequently points out the lack of faith others have in her, noting that she is completely trustworthy and would not harm a fly unless it gained her anything. (At this point it is worth noting that "Gaining her something" still can translate to "Toying with for fun") She is usually extremely hard to annoy, and rarely manages to stay at 180 for long, cooling down her rage very quickly. Some would say that this is even more dangerous, as she is likely to start plotting your demise after becoming calm. If she does get into a rage, your best bet is probably to hide under a rock, preferably quite far away. Arachnea has come to enjoy the simple things in life, like food, drink and friends, although the latter is lacking quite a bit due to her inability to trust fellow Mahjarrat. She is well versed in good wines and absolutely hates anyone in love; thanks to her own rather unlucky ventures into said area. Despite all, she is still loyal to Zaros. In him, she sees a force to follow that will grant her fulfillment of what she sees as her purpose in life: to fight worthy opponents and, in the lack of such, the chance for entertainment and peace. She is not a fanatic, but she would give up her life for Zaros if it saved his so future Mahjarrat may carry on their purpose, led by this worthy God. On par with many Mahjarrat, Arachnea does not delve deeply into an emotional spectrum and is frequently noncommittal in relationships. On the flip side of this, she is taken by a strong hang to grow highly possessive of those she considers worthy- usually the people she gains an unusually close bond with, such as her only living daughter and, to her own shame and ire, her ex-husband, Aranitus Aren. Important Quotes Commonly used whenever imparts to her something she believes worthy of the phrase or something she did not know before Anyone who flaunts their powers or does an overly dramatic entrance. A truth to live by. Relatives *''Aranitus Aren'' deceased - Married during Arachnea's time in the Vox ex Affectum. He was heartbroken when she separated herself from him again, but later forgave her and they are now on somewhat friendly terms. *''Evgeni Avencianci'' alive - Married with sincere reluctance on Arachnea's part, mainly due to her unhappy histories with marriage and family in the past. The two have found great happiness and joy together. *''Halcyone'' alive - Daughter of Evgeni and Arachnea, the youngest member of Arachnea's family. Related Pages *Arachnea's Realm - The home of Arachnea. *Arachnea's Spellbook - Containing every spell she trusts to leave in a book. *Arachnea's Notes - Knowledge and opinion on Mahjarrat, according to her. *Arachnea's Collections - The vault of things she has gathered or taken off defeated opponents. */A Thesis on Magic/ - Groundbreaking theories as to how magic works. */The tale of Blasted Mountain/ - A poem of Arachnea's origins *Constructs Gallery Magic beam.png Barrows.png|Arachnea at the Barrows, inspecting the works of Sliske Arachnea Darkmeyer.png|Arachnea in Darkmeyer, questing for Blisterwood Arachnea.jpg|First official self-made artwork of Arachnea in the human form she adopted while pregnant Chibi Arachnea.png|Chibi artwork of Arachnea Trivia *Arachnea suffers from, ironically, a light case of Arachnophobia. *The idea to the name "Arachnea" originated taken from Alexader Wolkov's "Der gelbe Nebel", supposed to be a sequel to the famous Wizard of Oz. (The original is Arachna) *Arachne, Arachnea's almost-namesake, was a greek weaver whom Athena turned into a spider. *Despite her name's close association with spiders, Arachnea neither favors the arthropods nor spinning metaphorical webs of intrigues. *Arachnea's current selection of names and titles is ''Arachnea Luzern Achillea Anchusa Nocturne Vitex Fraxinelle Leontodon Fuchsia Lilac alba Lilium D'Umbrea Feu Aren The Sage of Blasted Mountain, Great High Mistress of Shadow Magick, Overlord Teacher of the Ancient Magicks and Modern Magic, Archmage of Enchantments, Honorary member of the Feu Vigilantis, Blooded Member of the Aren family, Grande Glyphiére and Aren Archmage; Mother of Mahjarrat, Re-Founder of Aspera, Slayer of Dragonkin.'' *Arachnea is among the oldest known Mahjarrat walking Gielinor today. Exact values cannot be calculated due to the unusual fluxes and ratios of time between Gielinor and Freneskae *Within roleplay, Arachnea is a D2 Mahjarrat. 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